Systems and devices that allow a user to operate a computing device with a stylus and/or finger are known. Typically, a digitizer is integrated with, or coupled to a display screen to produce a system capable of detecting user input, e.g., stylus interaction and/or finger touch. A digitizer may detect interactions and report an associated location, e.g., a location or coordinates relevant to an associated display screen. Position detection of user interactions may be provided as input to a computing device and may be interpreted as one or more user commands. In addition, one or more gestures performed with finger touch and/or stylus interaction may be associated with specific user commands. In some embodiments, input to the digitizer sensor is based on electromagnetic transmission provided by the stylus touching the sensing surface and/or capacitive coupling provided by the finger touching the screen.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,690,156 entitled “Physical Object Location Apparatus and Method and a Platform Using the Same” and U.S. Pat. No. 7,292,229 entitled “Transparent Digitizer” both of which are assigned to N-trig Ltd., the assignee of the present application, the contents of both of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe a positioning device capable of locating multiple physical objects positioned on a flat panel display (FPD), and a transparent digitizer sensor that can be incorporated into an electronic device, typically over an active display screen of the electronic device. The digitizer sensor typically includes a matrix of vertical and horizontal conductive lines to sense an electric signal. Typically, the matrix is formed from conductive lines patterned on one transparent foil or on two transparent foils that are superimposed on each other. Positioning the physical object at a specific location on the digitizer provokes a signal, thus a position of origin may be detected.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,372,455, entitled “Touch Detection for a Digitizer” assigned to N-Trig Ltd., the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a digitizing tablet system including a transparent digitizer sensor overlaid on an FPD. As described therein, a digitizing tablet system is capable of detecting position of both physical objects and fingertip touch, using the same conductive lines.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2006/0026521 and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2006/0026536, entitled “Gestures for touch sensitive input devices” the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describe reading data from a multi-point sensing device such as a multi-point touch screen where the data pertains to touch input with respect to the multi-point sensing device, and identifying at least one multi-point gesture based on the data from the multi-point sensing device.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/357,427, entitled “Graphical object manipulation with a touch sensitive screen” assigned to N-Trig Ltd., the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of graphical object manipulation using a touch sensitive screen. The method comprises detecting a presence of two user interactions within a defined boundary of a graphical object displayed on the touch sensitive screen, determining position of each of the two user interactions with respect to the graphical object, detecting displacement of at least one of the two user interactions, and manipulating the graphical object based on the displacement to maintain the same position of each of the two user interactions with respect to the graphical object.